Gallic Acid-Phospholipid Complex: Drug Incorporation and Physicochemical Characterization

Gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) a plant phenolic antioxidant is known for its strong antiinflammatory, anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic activities. But due to a lower half-life and rapid clearance by the body, frequent administration of the molecule is required. To improve the bioavailability and prolong its duration in the body system, its phospholipid complex was prepared and evaluated for various physico-chemical parameters like encapsulation efficiency, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffractometry, IR spectroscopy and dissolution study. The phospholipid complex of gallic acid (Ga-Pc) was found to be fluffy and porous with rough surface morphology. FTIR, DSC and XRPD data confirmed the complex formation. The 89.1% of gallic acid was encapsulated in the phospholipid complex. A controlled release pattern was shown by the complex (which showed continuous release up to 93% of gallic acid) at the end of 24 h in comparison to free gallic acid (which showed 81.91% burst release just in the 0.5 h). Keywords: Gallic acid, Phosphatidylcholine, Controlled release, Encapsulation, DSC, X-RPD